


The Luxury of Time

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, Fluff, Het, Rare Pair, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 04:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8607667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: It's snowing outside and no one is waiting for Joe at home. Which is a very nice thing.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Theme: weather  
> Prompt: The Flash, Caitlin Snow/Joe West, Chats by the fireplace during a snowstorm.  
> http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/753911.html?thread=99324151#t99324151

"It's really starting to come down out there." 

Caitlin said the words with some surprise as she entered the living room, a cup of coffee in either hand. When she'd left to pour it barely two minutes ago, flakes of snow had been drifting lazily down from the sky, hardly enough to get excited about. Now, however, she could hardly see to the street outside, flurries of snow already starting to stick to the ground. She bit her lip as she laid the mugs down on the table, automatically checking the fire which was still blazing away merrily, throwing out a huge amount of heat. Just to be safe, she crossed to the windows, pulled the thick curtains shut in an effort to keep as much heat in as possible. 

When she turned back around, Joe was looking up at her from her couch, a smile playing around his lips. "Still don't like the cold, huh?" 

She felt her cheeks heat, only partly with embarrassment. It had far more to do with the way he was looking at her, the tone of his voice, low and intimate. It wasn't a voice he'd be able to get away with using at STAR Labs, put it that way, and she was learning that the old proverb really was true, that what was seldom was indeed wonderful. "I get enough of it," she said simply, crossing the room to drop down beside him, snuggle up against him. His body was warm against hers and he moved his arm, putting it around her shoulders to pull her closer. She closed her eyes when she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head, almost ready to purr with contentment. 

It was a moment she wanted to last forever. 

Instead she heard herself say, "You should probably get going." It was the last thing she actually wanted but the roads would be getting dangerous before too much longer and the last thing they needed was for people to find out about them because he was in some road traffic accident near her apartment. "Before it gets too heavy..." 

Much to her surprise, he pulled away from her, shaking his head as he reached for his cell phone, waving it at her. "Wally called earlier... Keystone's already got six inches on the ground, he's staying put on his friend's couch rather than risk that drive. And Iris texted when you were getting the coffee." His lips twisted in a grimace that was as familiar as it was amusing. "She's crashing at Barry's tonight."

Caitlin couldn't help herself. She arched one eyebrow, grinned broadly at him. "Crashing?"

"Her words, not mine." Joe shook his head. "Like I don't know what they're doing..." A shudder ran across his shoulders and Caitlin didn't try to hide her smile.

"So, you're telling me..." Caitlin spoke slowly, because she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. "That there's no-one in your house to see what time you come home?" 

Joe's hand found hers, fingers lacing together. "Or if I come home." His voice was lower suddenly and a shiver that had nothing to do with cold zinged down her spine. 

"Why, Detective West..." She kept her voice light and breezy. It wasn't hard, not with the giddy feeling that followed that shiver, not with the way his eyes gleamed in the firelight. "Are you inviting yourself for a sleepover?" 

He shrugged, tugging her hand and she went easily, ended up straddling him, her arms around his neck. "I wasn't actually planning on doing much sleeping..." His hands moved to her back, slid down and found a home on her hips. He flexed his fingers and for an instant, she fought the urge to arch into his touch, the familiar instinct not to start something they couldn't finish coming to the fore. 

Then she realised that tonight was different, the cold snap giving them a gift they didn't usually get: the luxury of time. A whole night, uninterrupted, just the two of them. A whole host of possibilities raced through her mind, faster than any speedster, and she shifted her hips against his, enjoying how his eyes darkened as his fingers flexed against her skin once more. 

"I like that plan," she murmured as she leaned down and brushed her lips over his. Only for a moment though, then she slid off his lap, ignoring his pout of disappointment, pressing her body close to his. "Drink your coffee, Joe," she said, reaching over and handing him his mug, taking a sip of her own for good measure. "After all... I'm not planning on sleeping much either." 

His chuckle, low and knowing, was almost enough to make her skip the coffee and drag him to her bedroom. 

Almost. 

But when his hand found hers, when he entwined their fingers together and started to tell her a story about a snowstorm when he was a kid, it was easier to resist, to let herself get lost in the heat of the fire, the warmth of the coffee and his smile as she traded his story for one of her own, then another, and another back and forth in an easy rhythm. 

They didn't look at the clock once, only retiring to the bedroom when the fire had died down and there was a distinct chill creeping into the air. In the bedroom though, they wasted no time warming one another up.

And when she fell asleep in his arms for the first time in their relationship, it was the best sleep she'd had in months.


End file.
